The Art (And Glut) Of Memoir

Here's one by Deirdre Marie Capone called, "Uncle Al." The press release refers to Al Capone as her uncle and promises us inside-the-family insights about the Valentnie's Day Massacre as well as "authentic Capone family recipes." It concludes: Deirdre relates what life was like growing up the grand niece of Public Enemy #1, Al Capone.

... So already we have stumbled into an area of imprecision. Is he her uncle or her grand uncle? And here we have in a nutshell the problem posed by the modern explosion of memoir-writing. There are too many of them. They are often written by people with dubious claims on history. And their veracity is often in doubt.

On the other hand, and I speak now as a memoir-writer more than as a receiver of press releases, there are, in memoirs, beautiful, funny, sad, haunting, instructive stories many of which would be otherwise lost.

Today - the art of memoir writing. What are the genre's ethics? How is memoir different than autobiography?

Mr. Couser will be giving a book talk, "Why Memoir Matters," at the Stonington Public Library in Stonington, CT, at 5 p.m. on January 29.

Bloom and Levine will offer A Class in Memoir starting Wednesday, March 7, through Wednesday, April 25. There is a fee of $600 for the eight-week course. The registration deadline is Wednesday, February 15. The class runs from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mark Twain Museum Center, 351 Farmington Avenue, Hartford. One session will be held in Mark Twain's library in the historic house. To participate, a serious interest in the memoir form is the only requirement; beginners are welcome. To register, please send a brief letter or email of interest to Steve Courtney at steve.courtney@marktwainhouse.org or call 860-247-0998, Ext. 243. Registrants will be limited to fourteen. The tuition fee must be paid in full by the registration deadline, February 15.